With innovative design and data -controlled research, Yale is the way to reduce bird mortality and to promote bird -friendly architecture on campus and beyond.
Fababah Jahra
Staff Reporter
Yulin Zhen, Photography Editor
In Yale in recent years, a bird -friendly architecture has gained dynamics in recent years, with new guidelines and initiatives to reduce bird collisions with campus buildings.
Yale institutions in cooperation with the bird -friendly initiative of Yale (Ybfi) and the Office of Sustainability are working to include both bird protection elements in both new and existing buildings.
Birds often recognize normal glass as a barrier. According to Ybfi, “every year in North America up to a billion birds are killed by window collisions, which is caused by buildings to lead people with people caused by humans.”
The YBFI thus tests various window filing applications with subtle, opaque patterns. These films help birds to identify windows as obstacles and not to open as open flight paths, which significantly reduces the collisions.
“Our research, which was carried out in cooperation with the Glass Collision Campaign of the American Bird Conservancy, focuses on the identification and evaluation of guidelines and strategies of the city, the state and the federal government, which can accelerate the introduction of the construction design of bird buildings in the scale beyond Yale's campus,” said ViveCa Morris '15 Env '18 SOM '19, Executive Director of Ybfi.
The YBFI uses the data it collects on campus to focus its strategies and reduce bird mortality through targeted design interventions. Morris emphasized the importance of data -controlled solutions.
Recent efforts have focused on tackling bird collisions in existing buildings with high incidence rates. The Ybfi has drawn up a significant number From bird strokes at several locations, including Evans Hall, with 323 collisions, the Yale Science Building with 56 collisions and rosary Hall with 18 collisions.
Apart from the retrofitting of existing structures, Yale integrates bird -friendly measures into new construction and renovation work. The newcomer to the Wright Laboratory from Science Hill will contain a bird -friendly facade, and the renovation work in Osborn Memorial Laboratories includes bird -safe glass.
“The current Yale design standard refers to the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) library with building materials,” wrote Cathy Jackson, director of planning management at Yale's Office of Facilities. “If new products come onto the market or are updated, the ABC tests and the Sentre will rate their threat factor for birds.”
According to Jackson, compensation for bird -friendly design with architectural and sustainability goals is of crucial importance. Window films not only reduce bird collisions, but also enable natural light and exterior views. In addition, the university takes into account the environmental influences of materials that are used in bird -friendly designs and are committed to greater transparency in the sustainability of the products.
Yale's efforts extend beyond the campus, whereby the faculty and students actively contribute to more comprehensive discussions about bird -friendly design. In February, Yale took part in Bird Safe Campus Summit, a meeting of researchers, faculties and experts across North America, who focused on promoting strategies for the bird -free building.
“Our students, faculties and alumni are a strong community of knowledge in New Haven, all over the country and global,” wrote Jackson. “It is important to share the work in general, and it is always welcome to bring other approaches back.”
The YBFI offers students and faculties direct opportunities to get involved, be it through research, attorney or practical efforts to improve the sustainability of the campus.
The office for sustainability is located in the 70 Whitney Ave.